65-515: Silver Nemesis is the third serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 in three weekly parts from 23 November (the 25th anniversary) to 7 December 1988. In New Zealand, all three parts were broadcast on TVNZ on 25 November. In the serial, the neo-Nazi De Flores ( Anton Diffring ),
130-521: A Colonel (in The Web of Fear ). Deborah Watling was unable to make the recording dates but Frazer Hines was able to free himself up for a day's shooting, so Jamie was written in instead. John Levene was invited back as Sergeant Benton but objected to the script requiring Benton to not recognise the Second Doctor. Levene felt this was unfaithful to his character, who he felt would not forget
195-407: A cliff. This was what was originally intended in the script, but for budgetary reasons the sequence was changed. Location filming took place at Cwm Bychan, Llanbedr . The Yeti costume used in the serial was last used in The Web of Fear in 1968. It had decayed badly in 15 years of storage, requiring dim lighting and selective camera angles during filming. The story was prepared in two formats:
260-466: A collection of set pieces without a great deal of substance. This is Terrance Dicks' loving tribute to a series that he helped to mould and, as such, contains everything that it should." In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker stated that "The Five Doctors" "is not as bad as it could have been ... [but] the story fairly groans at the seams with the inclusion of so many 'old favourites'." Still, they felt that it worked as
325-477: A one-off fun celebration. In 2012, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times found the serial fun and made with a lot of love, though he noted the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane fared less well than some of the others. He also called it "Anthony Ainley's most effective outing" and praised the efficient scripting and other aspects of production aside from Moffatt's "sedate" direction. DVD Talk 's Stuart Galbraith gave
390-813: A pact with the Cybermen to lead them to the Tower. As the other Doctors and companions converge on the Tower, the Fifth Doctor discovers the recall device given to the Master included a tracking signal to lead the Cybermen to him. The Castellan is found to possess the forbidden Black Scrolls of Rassilon, and dies while attempting to escape an invasive mind probe. When the Doctor returns to the High Council's chamber to report, he finds Borusa missing, and soon discovers
455-687: A result of the Great Storm of 1987 that had caused widespread damage throughout southern England. Scenes at the gas works where The Doctor and Ace meet and combat the Cybermen were filmed on the site that later became the Millennium Dome , now the O 2 . Fiona Walker had appeared in The Keys of Marinus in 1964 as Kala. Leslie French , who plays the Mathematician, had turned down the role of The Doctor in 1963; thus, his casting
520-772: A secret room with Borusa at the controls of the Time Scoop. Borusa reveals he seeks to be the President Eternal of Gallifrey and needed the Doctors to disable the force field over the Tomb in order to gain immortality from Rassilon's Ring and rule forever. Borusa uses his headgear, the Coronet of Rassilon, to compel the Doctor to do his bidding. Meanwhile, the Master meets the First Doctor and Tegan and rids himself of
585-427: A statue made of a living metal, validium, that was created by Omega and Rassilon as the ultimate defence for Gallifrey . The statue's components - a bow, an arrow and the figure, must be brought together for it to be activated. They have been separated since 1638 when, to foil the first attempt by Peinforte to seize it, the Doctor launched the figure into orbit in a powered asteroid. This asteroid has been approaching
650-506: Is officially a co-production with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , although the production team were not aware of this during production and the agreement in effect amounted to little more than a pre-production purchase pact. Nathan-Turner's first choice of director for the story was Waris Hussein , who had directed the first-ever Doctor Who serial, An Unearthly Child , in 1963. However, Hussein
715-636: The Castellan and a copy of the High Council's seal before he is transmatted to the Zone. The Master encounters the Third Doctor, who dismisses him and accuses him of making the seal himself, before finding the Fifth just as they are surrounded by Cybermen. The Master is knocked out by a Cyberman's gun firing, and the Doctor finds and uses the recall device to return to the Citadel. When the Master awakes, he makes
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#1732787002743780-511: The Daleks and the Cybermen . The American New Jersey Network also made a special behind-the-scenes documentary called The Making of Doctor Who , which followed the production of the 25th anniversary story Silver Nemesis . Andrew Cartmel script edited the series. Season 25 saw script editor Andrew Cartmel , who had joined for the previous season, exert a greater influence on the style of
845-630: The Fourth Doctor and Romana ends up trapping the two in the time vortex. The Fifth Doctor senses the disruption of his own timeline, and with his own companions Tegan and Turlough , travels to Gallifrey via his TARDIS , also ending up in the Death Zone, unable to travel farther with the TARDIS due to a force field projected by the Tomb of Rassilon , the tower at the centre of the Death Zone. The various Doctors lead their companions towards
910-529: The Third Doctor with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Second Doctor with Jamie McCrimmon . When Frazer Hines , Jamie's actor, proved unavailable for more than a cameo appearance the script had to be altered, pairing the Second Doctor with Victoria Waterfield . This was revised again when Deborah Watling , Victoria's actress, became unavailable and Baker decided not to appear, resulting in
975-413: The " Cartmel Masterplan ". The Cartmel Masterplan is a fan name for the planned Doctor Who backstory developed primarily by script editor Andrew Cartmel and writers Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt , by which they intended to restore some of the mystery of the Doctor's background that had been lost through revelation of the existing backstory. Although hints were dropped in the last two seasons,
1040-519: The 17th-century sorceress Lady Peinforte ( Fiona Walker ), and the Cybermen fight for control of the Nemesis, a statue containing a living metal which crash-landed near Windsor Castle in 1988. The serial marks the final appearance of the Cybermen in the original run. The Seventh Doctor and Ace visit England, where three rival factions—the Cybermen , a group of neo-Nazis, and a 17th-century sorceress named Lady Peinforte—are vying for control of
1105-486: The Autons (1971). After being dropped into the Death Zone, Sarah would have been attacked by a group of them before being rescued by the Third Doctor. However, due to budgetary restrictions, the scene was dropped and replaced in the finished version. Just before she meets the Third Doctor, Sarah falls a few feet down what fans have generally considered a rather unconvincing slope. In the novelisation, Sarah actually steps off
1170-519: The Cybermen by letting them fall victim to the Death Zone's traps, before killing the Cyberleader with one of his subordinates' guns. As Borusa expected, the other three Doctors and their companions have made it to the tomb chamber, bypassing the Yeti and Raston Warrior Robot, as well as phantoms of the Doctor's former companions Jamie McCrimmon , Zoe Heriot , Liz Shaw and Mike Yates . They ponder
1235-529: The Daleks (1988), the Doctor stated that he was "far more than just another Time Lord ." In Silver Nemesis (1988), lines about the creation of validium and Lady Peinforte knowing the Doctor's secrets were meant to point towards this mystery. In 2014, Cartmel speculated that the "great secret" Lady Peinforte knew about the Doctor in Silver Nemesis was "perhaps" connected to his name, which during
1300-525: The Daleks . David Banks makes his final of four appearances in the series in Silver Nemesis as a Cyber-leader. This season was broadcast on Wednesdays. The entire season was broadcast from 5 October 1988 to 4 January 1989. Transmission moved to Wednesday nights. Season twenty-five was originally to have been broadcast in production order, with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy second. However,
1365-646: The Earth at twenty-five yearly intervals ever since, leaving a succession of disasters in its wake, and has now crash-landed near Windsor Castle . The Doctor plays the three factions against one another and eventually appears to concede defeat to the Cyber Leader. This is just part of a carefully laid trap and the Cybermen fleet is wiped out by the statue. The working titles for this story included The Harbinger and Nemesis . Writer Kevin Clarke , who appears twice in
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#17327870027431430-523: The Fifth Doctor with Tegan and Turlough. Chancellor Flavia arrives via transmat, with the Chancellery Guard, and, after learning of Borusa's fate, declares that the Doctor is now Lord President, a position he cannot refuse. The Doctor tells Flavia to return to the Citadel, as he will follow shortly, then quickly departs with his companions, as he has no intention of returning to Gallifrey any time soon. Tegan asks if he's planning to jet off across
1495-827: The Pythia that had, until then, dominated Gallifrey . The other two members of the Triumvirate were Rassilon and Omega . Terry Molloy makes his final appearance as Davros , the Dalek creator (now acting as the Dalek Emperor) in Remembrance of the Daleks . John Leeson who previously regularly voiced the robot companion K9 from 1977 to 1978 and 1980–1981, appears as one of the Dalek voices in Remembrance of
1560-497: The Second Doctor, and he declined to participate. The scene was filmed with actor Ray Float portraying an unnamed UNIT Sergeant. In April 2013, Carole Ann Ford revealed the producer had initially insisted that Susan not refer to the Doctor as her grandfather: "You will not believe why. They said, 'We don't really want people to perceive him as having had sex with someone, to father a child.' I just screamed with hysterical laughter and said, 'In that case, I'm not doing it.'" The script
1625-412: The Tower while avoiding the hostile forces. In the Citadel on Gallifrey, the High Council of Time Lords have also detected the disturbance in the Doctor's timeline and the power drain from the Time Scoop, and Lord President Borusa has the Master summoned, to help rescue the Doctor, offering him a new set of regenerations and a pardon if he succeeds. The Master accepts, and is given a recall device by
1690-583: The UK but before the other two were transmitted there. Paul Cornell , Martin Day , and Keith Topping wrote of the serial in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), "A bit of a mess, really. Some passable scenes, but the story lacks pace and character involvement. Its plot is virtually identical to Remembrance of the Daleks only two stories previously." In 2012, Mark Braxton of Radio Times said that
1755-460: The US airing. A four-part-serial version of the story was shown on BBC1, nightly between 14 August and 17 August 1984 at 6:15 p.m., achieving viewing figures of 4.7, 4.5, 3.7 and 4.8 million, respectively. Paul Cornell , Martin Day and Keith Topping wrote of the special in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), "A fine anniversary tale, although don't analyse the plot too closely as it's largely
1820-529: The United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations on 23 November 1983, the anniversary date. It was transmitted on BBC1 in the United Kingdom two days later. The Five Doctors was written by Terrance Dicks , who had been the script editor for the entirety of the Third Doctor 's era and had written for the series since the 1960s. The episode aired after
1885-407: The classic series of Doctor Who for which all recorded and filmed material, including alternative and unused takes, fluffed scenes and so forth, still exists in broadcast-quality format. This allowed for the creation of a Special Edition of the story in 1995. "The Five Doctors" was recorded in four-channel stereo, but broadcast in mono. The later DVD releases had a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. In
1950-534: The conclusion of the 20th season to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee reprised their roles as the Second and Third Doctors, respectively. Richard Hurndall portrayed the First Doctor , as the character's original actor, William Hartnell , had died since his last appearance on the show ten years previously. Since Tom Baker decided not to appear in the special, footage from
2015-469: The episode (originally called the Collector's Edition ), with updated special effects, surround-sound compatibility and an alternate editing of the raw material was released on VHS in 1995 in a box set with the video of The King's Demons and a limited-edition postcard album. This version also features a special BBC video ident, showing said ident being whisked away by the Time Scoop. The Special Edition
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2080-479: The expected start of the season on 7 September was postponed to 5 October as a result of BBC coverage of the Seoul Summer Olympics. Nathan-Turner still wanted to lead off the year with Remembrance of the Daleks and have episode one of the twenty-fifth anniversary story, Silver Nemesis , broadcast on 23 November – the actual date of Doctor Who's 25th anniversary. This left only three weeks in between
2145-469: The galaxy in an old spaceship running from his people. With a grin, he replies that of course he is, as that's how his adventure started in the first place. The working title for this story was "The Six Doctors". It would have been written by former script editor Robert Holmes and would have featured the Cybermen and their kidnapping of the five incarnations of the Doctor; in their attempt to extract Time Lord DNA to turn themselves into "Cyberlords",
2210-462: The history of the Time Lords , had been revealed, some of the mystery about the Doctor had been lost. As a consequence, together with new writers Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt , he began developing the seeds of a new backstory, which would be hinted at throughout the season, that suggested the Doctor to be more powerful than most people were aware of. This concept eventually came to be known as
2275-539: The meaning of writing in the tomb: "to lose is to win and he who wins shall lose". The Master arrives in the Tomb, but the Doctors' companions tie him up, with the Brigadier knocking him out for good measure. The Doctors disable the force field to summon the TARDIS, but this action allows Borusa and the Fifth Doctor to arrive via transmat. Borusa uses the Coronet to prevent the Doctors' companions from interfering while he speaks to Rassilon. An image of Rassilon appears above
2340-481: The ninety-minute version and a four-part version, the latter designed for international distribution or repeat broadcasting in the ordinary series run. The episode breaks were, respectively, Sarah falling down the slope, the Cybermen placing their bomb outside the TARDIS while Susan and Turlough watch, and the Master appearing behind the First Doctor and Tegan while in the Dark Tower. This is the only programme from
2405-449: The opening credits music was also used, which ended in a brief coda phrase that was never used in any other serial. The First Doctor was played by Richard Hurndall , replacing William Hartnell , who died in 1975. Hartnell does make an appearance, however, in a pre-titles clip taken from the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). After initially agreeing to take part, Tom Baker declined to return so soon after his departure from
2470-456: The original broadcast, the video included an hour-long documentary made by New Jersey Network during the production of the adventure and featuring interviews with cast and crew. This documentary was not included on the 2010 DVD release due to rights issues. The broadcast version of this serial only was released on DVD as part of a box set with Revenge of the Cybermen on 9 August 2010. The documentary eventually got cleared for release as part of
2535-534: The other stories from Season 20 in the Doctor Who - The Collection Box Set . This release featured the original 1983 version, updated with new special effects. The only change retained from the 1995 version was Rassilon's voice. There are many differences between the original 1983 version of the episode and the 1995 special-edition version. Many of these changes were not carried over to the 2023 version. The complete original and special edition scores, as well as
2600-536: The pairings of the First Doctor with Susan, the Second with the Brigadier, the Third with Sarah Jane Smith, and the Fifth with Tegan and Turlough. Instead of meeting phantoms of Jamie and Zoe ( Wendy Padbury ), the Second Doctor and the Brigadier were originally scripted to meet Zoe and Victoria. The Doctor would have realised the truth about them when Victoria called Lethbridge-Stewart "Brigadier", when she only knew him as
2665-470: The proposed revelations never materialised on screen as the programme was not renewed into the 1990s. Some of the stories during the Seventh Doctor 's tenure were intended to deal with the lack of mystery by suggesting that much of what was believed about the Doctor was wrong and that he was a far more powerful and mysterious figure than previously thought. In an untelevised scene in Remembrance of
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2730-410: The queue to tour Windsor Castle. Part One was transmitted on the 25th anniversary of the first episode of Doctor Who . Parts Two and Three were the second and third respectively of the series ever to be premiered outside of the United Kingdom (the first being " The Five Doctors "), shown on 25 November as part of a compilation broadcast of the story on New Zealand 's TVNZ , after Part One had shown in
2795-534: The request of Nathan-Turner, to tie in with the programme's silver anniversary. Permission was refused for filming at Windsor Castle so those scenes were shot at Arundel Castle . According to the DVD commentary, scenes were shot in woodland areas around Arundel Castle, notably the climax of Part Two, when the Doctor and Ace discuss the Cyber-threat while sitting near a fallen tree. The damaged and fallen trees were
2860-434: The serial itself playing a tourist at Windsor, discusses the development of the plot on the DVD. He points out that he had seen very little of Doctor Who and that he met the production team without any idea of what his proposed story would be about. He made up a story on the spot in front of producer John Nathan-Turner that the Doctor is literally God , though this was not realised on-screen. The Cybermen were added later at
2925-438: The series two years before, saying in 2014, "I didn't want to play 20 per cent of the part. I didn't fancy being a feed for other Doctors—in fact, it filled me with horror." His appearance was pieced together with footage from the unaired serial Shada . In early drafts of the script, some of the Doctor and companion combinations were different. Originally, the Fourth Doctor would have been paired with Sarah Jane Smith ,
2990-474: The series. He had watched serials from the Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes era such as The Seeds of Doom and The Talons of Weng-Chiang in preparation for it and concluded that the series should return to a more serious and dramatic approach. The season also saw the start of a move to explore the Doctor's past; Cartmel had felt that as more of the character's own history, together with
3055-569: The siege on the Fields of Trenzalore in " The Time of the Doctor " (2013) is said to be what would allow the Time Lords to return to the universe. The Other was first mentioned explicitly in the novelisation of Remembrance of the Daleks (1990) by Ben Aaronovitch as a shadowy figure in Time Lord history, one of the founding Triumvirate of Time Lord society after the overthrow of the cult of
3120-447: The special features for Silver Nemesis on the season 25 Blu-ray Collection in 2024. Doctor Who (season 25) The twenty-fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 October 1988. It comprised four separate serials, beginning with Remembrance of the Daleks and ending with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy . To mark the 25th anniversary season, producer John Nathan-Turner brought back
3185-403: The story four out of five stars, finding Hurndall's performance as the First Doctor "the show's biggest, most delightful surprise". Writing for io9 , Alasdair Wilkins said that the special was "far from perfect" and "a big, silly adventure", but worked "much better if you can selectively switch your brain off". Digital Spy 's Morgan Jeffery gave the story three out of five stars, writing that it
3250-438: The story had "a certain comic-strip effervescence" despite many of the plot points not going well together or missing the mark. DVD Talk 's Ian Jane gave Silver Nemesis three out of five stars, describing it as "phoned in" and a remake of Remembrance of the Daleks . However, he felt that the story was still enjoyable due to the chemistry between McCoy and Aldred, as well as the faster pace. SFX reviewer Ian Berriman said that
3315-483: The story packed in too many elements and did not do much with the Cybermen. Den of Geek listed the Cybermen's reaction to jazz as one of the "great things in not-so-great [ Doctor Who ] episodes". A novelisation of this serial, by Kevin Clarke , was published by Target Books in November 1989. On 3 May 1993, an extended version of this three-part serial was released on VHS . Apart from featuring footage not shown in
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#17327870027433380-450: The story was too ambitious, and criticised the Cybermen. Despite this, he noted that the serial still had "a great concept, ... some cool moments, a couple of enjoyably awful puns and one superb character: nutjob Jacobean villainess Lady Peinforte". Alasdair Wilkins of io9 wrote that it is "not an unmitigated disaster, but it's definitely the worst of classic Doctor Who 's creative resurgence in its final two seasons". He also felt that
3445-580: The technology firm Rok Player. The story was re-released as a 25th anniversary edition DVD on 3 March 2008. This release contains both the original broadcast version and the special edition. The special was a free gift in issue 4 of Doctor Who DVD Files . On 28 August 2015, "The Five Doctors" was released in Germany—with the German title Die Fünf Doktoren . In September 2023, the story was released again in an upgraded format for Blu-ray, being included with
3510-557: The theme music, which began with Delia Derbyshire 's original 1960s arrangement and then segued into the Peter Howell arrangement being used by the series at the time (the former being played at a slightly higher speed to match the tempo and pitch of the latter). This arrangement was only used on this one occasion and was the last time that the Derbyshire version was heard during the show's original run. A unique arrangement of
3575-689: The tomb and offers Borusa his ring as the key to immortality. Borusa dons the Ring, but then shortly disappears, becoming living stone that is part of Rassilon's tomb. The First Doctor realised what fate the tomb's writing foretold: immortality, but at a cost of perpetual incarceration. Rassilon frees the Fourth Doctor and Romana from the time vortex and returns the Master to his own time; the Doctors immediately refuse his offer for immortality. The First, Second and Third Doctors collect their respective companions and return to their time streams as well, leaving
3640-586: The twist being that the First Doctor and Susan would actually be android impostors (the former being the "Sixth Doctor" of the title) and the Second Doctor would have saved the day. However, Holmes dropped out at an early stage and another former script editor, Terrance Dicks, was brought in instead. Some elements of this plotline would be reused in Holmes' own The Two Doctors (1985) and in Chris Chibnall 's " The Timeless Children " (2020). The programme
3705-435: The two serials. Consequently, the original season finale, The Happiness Patrol , was exchanged with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy . All releases are for DVD unless otherwise indicated: The Five Doctors The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in
3770-457: The unfinished serial Shada was used to portray the Fourth Doctor . An unknown entity uses the Time Scoop to bring several of the previous incarnations of the Doctor ; his former companions Susan Foreman , Sarah Jane Smith , and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart ; and his enemies the Daleks , the Cybermen , a Raston Warrior Robot and a Yeti , from their respective time streams into the Death Zone on Gallifrey . The entity's attempt to grab
3835-487: The various publicity photos of the five Doctors from this story, a waxwork model of Tom Baker from a 1980 Doctor Who Exhibition in Madame Tussauds was used. According to producer John Nathan-Turner, Baker had agreed to do the photocall for the 20th anniversary but, suspecting that he might not turn up, Nathan-Turner arranged for the waxwork to be on location. The end credits featured a specially-mixed version of
3900-444: Was "not the show's finest hour" but adding that it was "fun if enjoyed in the right frame of mind." A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks , was published by Target Books in November 1983; it was the only Target novelisation to be published before its story was aired. The novelisation features numerous deleted scenes that subsequently turned up on the special-edition DVD release of this story. "The Five Doctors"
3965-473: Was another nod to the series' beginnings in this Silver Anniversary story. Anton Diffring 's performance in Silver Nemesis was his last before his death in 1989. The production team tried to get Prince Edward involved in the show, but his office politely declined in March 1988; the programme instead used an Elizabeth II look-alike. Nicholas Courtney makes a cameo appearance, conversing with other visitors in
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#17327870027434030-531: Was changed to include mentions of the characters' relationship. "The Five Doctors" was first broadcast in the United States on the actual date of the programme's 20th anniversary. The broadcast in the United Kingdom was delayed two days so it could coincide with the BBC's Children in Need charity night, with an outro in character by Peter Davison. There were a few segments in the BBC broadcast that had not been shown in
4095-507: Was first released on VHS and Betamax in September 1985, using a unique to home video edit trimmed by 97s to allow the release to use a 90m cassette. This is distinct from shorter version sold to the USA, with different cuts. In 1990, the story was re-released, on VHS only, using the original UK broadcast edit. This version was also released on US LaserDisc in 1994. A Special Edition of
4160-572: Was in America at the time and was unable to accept the offer. Nathan-Turner then asked another veteran director, Douglas Camfield , to direct but he also declined. Camfield was also very ill with heart disease and this may have affected his decision not to direct the production. He died of a heart attack early in 1984. The original script featured an appearance by the Autons , last seen in Terror of
4225-475: Was the first Doctor Who story to be released on DVD, on 1 November 1999. The Region 1 version has a commentary track by Peter Davison and writer Terrance Dicks . This would later be carried over to the 2008 re-release in Region 2. On 22 August 2005 it was announced that "The Five Doctors" would be the first Doctor Who story to be made available to download to mobile phones, in a deal between BBC Worldwide and
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